E30 Zone

Hi all ,

I am currently in the process of restoring my e30 1985 2 door coupe rhd 320i . I am looking to get alpina
wheels. But the only ones i have available are
2x 7J x 16''
2x 8J X 16''

My question is if i get the m tech suspension set up ( bilstein b6 shocks and m tech springs ) will the rear wheels
fit with no modification/problems? I think the Alpina drop was 20mm aprox. But i dont know what the m tech was.
They are genuine alpina wheels. I can not currently check if they will fit on the car as it currently has no axels on it.
I also have the 51mm front struts. Really appreciate any info.

Thanks ,
HB02

hb02 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2023 8:48 pm

I am looking to get alpina wheels. But the only ones i have available are
2x 7J x 16''
2x 8J X 16''

They were the standard fit on the E30 and Alpina worked out they are the biggest wheels that fit with good clearance all round. Alpina never used 15" on the E30 but early cars had a square setup of 7x16

hb02 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2023 8:48 pm

My question is if i get the m tech suspension set up ( bilstein b6 shocks and m tech springs ) will the rear wheels
fit with no modification/problems? I think the Alpina drop was 20mm aprox. But i dont know what the m tech was.

The Alpina suspension was similar to the Eibach springs today that come in the B12 kit with B8 shock absorbers. It was about 20mm and worked well with Alpina staggered wheels.

The Mtech setup was generally a Boge damper and around a 12mm drop on the spring and always known as a milder setup.

In short you will be fine with staggered Alpina wheels Mtech springs and B6 shock absorbers.

edit: posted before coffee this morning and got my B6/B8 about face

Thanks mate really appreciat the info.

Also do you know if the 16 inch staggered set are 4 or 5 stud?

the staggered non M3 e30 is 4x100 which is the same as the non staggered set.

https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.p ... %20is%2028.

hb02 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 7:07 pm

Also do you know if the 16 inch staggered set are 4 or 5 stud?

As above, be careful with the 8" size and they came both 4 stud for the C2 etc and 5 stud for the M3.

The problem you will have is tyres, there is not a lot about in matching tyres for the OEM sizes 205/50/16 for the 7" and 225/45/16 for the 8".

It may change when I get round to needing tyres but one thing I found, if you go one size bigger on the sidewall (205/55 and 225/50) there is much wider choice of good rubber for the staggered setup. When I last looked there were good Michelins available as opposed to the ditchfinders in the OEM size.

There is enough clearance for the few mm increase in diameter, slightly deeper sidewall looks right on a classic E30 IMHO, they are more pothole friendly and even at a higher sidewall the performance of modern tyres will be better than anything available back in the day.